Berlina/Giulia Register Newsletter No. 23 (November 2006)

Notes and Comment

Welcome to Berlina/Giulia
Register newsletter 23.  I’ve
written a short piece below on heater fan repair, and another piece on the
first Berlina/Giulia tour, which I hope will become
an annual event.  Note that I have Berlina T-shirts for sale.  Lots of Berlinas
and Giulias sold this period, at progressively higher
but not extraordinary prices, including a Colli panel
wagon on the AlfaBB and then immediately on
ebay.  Boy I’d love one of
those.

Around the house, I took on
sight-unseen (a first for me) a Series 2 1959 Lancia Appia sedan that was a side player in a friend’s
complicated Lancia transaction. After a couple
hours’ work it drove and stopped OK, but it was a total restoration
project (sat out in the Mojave Desert for years and got jumped on by kids) that
I decided was just too much work.
So back it went to the friend, who has a Lancia
shop and can give it the time it needs.
So cute, and I hated to let it go, but it was eating up far too many
hours to make sense.  In Alfa news,
I drove my GTV for the first time at Willow Springs Raceway at an AROSC time
trial, which was great.  Very fast
track that takes a lot of confidence.
My Giulia Super soldiers on, requiring very little
maintenance and getting lots of comments from non-Alfa nuts, mostly women,
including my wife.

The keeper of the Berlina Register and North American Giulia
Sedan Register is Andrew Watry, email [email-masked].  Send me corrections to your register information
or any other Giulia- and Berlina-related
facts, rumors, tips, or needs.
Always seeking articles for the newsletter.  The keeper of the international Giulia Sedan Register is Barry Edmunds in Australia, email
[email-masked]

Giulia/Berlina Forum

Getting the Heater Fan to Work

by
Andrew Watry

My Giulia
Super’s heater fan stopped working last year, and so I had the
opportunity to pull it out and repair it. The fundamental design problem, other
than that motors and electrical stuff can just wear out, is that the heater fan
sits in a bowl in the bottom of the heater box, and any water that leaks into
the heater box drains to the bowl, and the bottom bushing of the fan motor
remains submerged, corroding and eventually seizing.  You can tell the fan is seized by
reaching into the fan box and trying to turn the fan with your fingers.  If it doesn’t spin easily,
it’s too tight.

You have to pull the whole heater
box out to repair or replace the fan.
Here’s how.
First, remove carpets and other trim as much as you can so they
don’t get soiled by any water, leaves, etc., that might spill.

Get
access to the heater box. In an early Super or TI, you don’t have to
remove the dash, but in a Berlina or late Super you must
remove the console. Drain and block off the heater hoses, drop down the heater
control panel, remove the under-dash parking brake handle, disconnect and mark
any wires, including the heater fan wires, lighter any others in the way. If
you have AC, good luck.

On
a Super, remove the lower dash trim and ashtray to give more access.  Remove the defroster hoses, and disconnect
the heater control valve cable.
Reach way up with a ¼” drive ratchet and long extension and
u-joint socket and remove the four 8mm nuts that hold the heater to the underside
of the cowl. On a Super, there is a support strut from one nut to bottom edge
of the dash that needs to be moved too.
On my Super, the heater just barely fit out the driver’s side once
the parking brake handle was out of the way. On a TI, it ought to clear easily,
with the TI’s higher dash bottom. On a Berlina, I think it will clear once the console is out, but
have not done it with the dash in place.

With
the heater unit on the bench, clean it, and open it up. It’s pretty
obvious how it comes apart with spring clips, but watch out for internal
baffles that fit only a certain way, and don’t tweak the shutter and
water valve controls.  If in doubt,
take pictures or make a diagram first.
You’ll probably want to replace the internal hoses while
you’re in there, and the heater valve unit (Berlina)
or bladder (Giulia) at this time.

The
fan unit sits in the bottom of the heater box, its motor held by two tangs in
rubber mounts that press into matching fittings in the heater box bottom.
Wiggle the fan unit up and out.
There are at least three makes of heater fan, but mine, a Ducellier, came apart with two small through-screws. Watch
out for spacers in the magnet halves.
The bottom bushing had a tiny C-clip on the shaft that I had to remove,
then the whole bottom half of the motor pressed off the motor shaft.  Mine was very corroded and took some doing
to get it apart.

Probably
the bottom bushing is corroded. Use some fine emory
paper on the motor shaft, and slightly ream the bushing with a tiny file or something
if need be.  When you have a good
fit between the shaft and the bushing, reassemble the motor, greasing the
bushings (a bit of wiggling to get the brushes past the commutator),
and test it on the bench.  If it
doesn’t work now, the motor itself may be bad. I cleaned and undercut the
commutator surface a bit, and mine worked fine.

To
avoid this water problem in the future, drill a couple holes in the bottom of
the heater box to allow any water from the heater itself, or from leaks from
the cowl or windshield, to drain out of the heater box rather than allowing the
bottom fan bushing to stay immersed.
Reassemble the heater box and reinstall it, making sure you get the
baffles fitted properly.  Install a
new valve or valve bladder if needed.  Adjust the heater valve cable so you get
it to close fully.  Then reassemble
everything else and test.

Berlina/Giulia Register
Tour

On September 17, the Berlina/Giulia Sedan Register held a Bay Area drive from
Berkeley to Mount Diablo and back (about 100 miles).  Eleven Alfa sedans showed up at the
meeting point: four Giulia Supers, one Giulia TI, five Berlinas, and one
Sport Sedan. Other participating cars included an Alfetta
GT, a 1992 Spider, two 2000 GTVs, a GTV-6, a BMW
2002, a Ferrari 308GTS QV, and a Porsche 911SC.

The sedan tour left Berkeley and
headed south through the Oakland hills, then down through Moraga and Danville,
winding up Mount Diablo from the south. The road to the top of the mountain was
closed, so the group convened at an empty pull‑off for pictures and
mutual admiration with Mount Diablo=s
peak as a scenic backdrop. It was a beautiful warm day, and after charging
briskly down the north end of Mount Diablo, the tour made a needed pitstop in Walnut Creek.  We then had a few miles to open >em up,
screaming up I‑680 and Route 4. After abruptly reversing directions and
charging down Franklin Canyon Road we went through Martinez, past San Pablo Dam
Reservoir, and back into Berkeley through the hills, finishing up at my house
in Berkeley.  The group downed pizza
and beer, and my new Series 2 Lancia Appia was the surprise centerpiece of the event, prompting
calls to restore it (eventually ignored).

On the tour were Aaron Curtiss,
Kathleen Cannon, David Johnson, John and Marilyn Gaccione,
Craig Morningstar and son Jack, Jonathan Thames, Dave Parmenter
and Michelle Muller, Derek Watry, Margaret Baumgartner, Kevin Hurley, Jeff and
Monique Hill, Tom Ramsey, Jason Etemadlehmer, me,
others).  Everyone seemed to have a
good time.  The sedan turnout was excellent;
it=s rare to see so many 105/115 Alfa
sedans together, and having the Sport Sedan present gave a generational
progression from 1962 to 1979. Next tour we need a 2000 sedan, Giulietta TI, 2600 sedan, Milano,
and 164 for completeness.

Berlina T-Shirts

I had some Berlina
Register T-shirts made for the tour. I sold most of them, but I have some large
and extra-large left (white, all cotton) and if there is enough demand, I will
make more. See picture below. $15 each includes shipping in US. $25 each
overseas includes shipping.  Check,
cash, or money order to Andrew Watry, 1284 Monterey Ave., Berkeley, CA 94707.

Berlina/Giulia Market
Report

1974 US 2000 Berlina.
Red/black auction/donation car. 1750 grille, converted to stainless bumpers.
Average, somewhat sad. $2,385 ebay, Nashville, TN. Seemed a bit high for what
looked pretty rough on ebay, but how picky can a Berlina
buyer in Nashville be?  5/06

1967 Giulia Super.  Maroon car with tan interior.  Phenomenal, perfect condition
throughout.  Allegedly original but
I=d wager it's restored. $25,000 ebay
Switzerland. Imported to California by a guy who has several perfect Alfas, and
can afford the best.  A new high
price for Giulias? A few aspects of the
restoration were not exactly to factory style, but the work throughout was to a
very high standard, and it was as nice a Giulia sedan
as you=re ever
going to see. For this buyer, who can import his own cars, price was apparently
no object. 5/06

1975 Nuova Super 1300. Blue/gray,
Bobcor, exemplary car imported from Italy. Solex carbs. $17,500 AlfaBB, Florida. Another basically perfect Bobcor car for a high price.  The going rate for really nice Giulias?  3/06

1972 Euro 2000 Berlina.
Blue/tan, factory AC. Alleged by seller to be US prototype but nothing to
document.  Very nice, complete car.
$6,700 ebay, Florida. Price seemed a bit low compared to apparent condition,
perhaps because seller didn=t
really seem to know what he was talking about, especially the Aprototype@
stuff, which just seemed flat wrong.
Car appeared to be a typical non-US Berlina
with factory AC, which was unusual but not unheard of.  A straightforward pitch would probably
have made buyers more confident in the car and the seller.  5/06

1969 Giulia 1300 TI.
Pumpkin/black. Cosmetically totally original and sound; a few blemishes to
interior.  2000 engine, includes
original 1300. $6,766 ebay, England. Incredibly original and unmolested TI in
lovable period 1960s color.  Great
looking car; still had the running-in sticker on the windshield.  A bargain; price would have been double
in US, I think.  6/06

1974 US 2000 Berlina. White
with black interior.  Complete and
basically solid, but let down by lack of maintenance in last five years, and
localized rust. $1,130 ebay, Berkeley, CA.
I owned this car several years ago, putting an APE engine in it after
the previous owner ran it out of water and ruined the engine.  It was then a nicely cared-for car that
was developing a rusty rash around the windows and the door jambs, but it drove
beautifully.  Now it is worn out in
most areas, including several years suffering with a mega-dog in the back
seat.  Not pretty.   Buyer did well though for a
complete operable car; this is a parts-Berlina price
nowadays.  7/06

1974 US 2000 Berlina.
Maroon with black interior.  Daily
driver in reasonable condition with fair amount of recent work including valve
job, new windshield, brakes, suspension bushings, shocks, etc.  In good mechanical condition, somewhat
tired cosmetically.  Has kicked
around the Bay Area the last five year and been through a number of California
Melee owners. $4,500 craigslist, San Francisco.  Price seems somewhat high for the
cosmetic condition, which included some bondo, rust,
missing trim, and home-flared fenders.
Mechanically sound though, and should give good service in daily use. Is
this the price of a better-than-beater Berlina now?
7/06

1966 Giulia Super. Red,
grey interior.  Complete and
reasonable looking car that is usable but needs some rust repair.  Body basically straight, interior pretty
good overall.  Mechanically solid
with 1750 engine, Euro cams, 1750 brakes, some spares. Even has original Anipple@
fog lights. Sitting for a few years.
$3,800 AlfaBB, Philadelphia.  A pretty good price by current standards
for a complete, driveable car with a decent interior
and good mechanicals.  1750 engine
and brakes are a bonus.  More rust
repair than expected, but that in itself is not unexpected.  From the online pictures, I=d call this a mild bargain.  I wonder why it didn=t generate more interest?  Price might have been higher on ebay
than on AlfaBB.
And visible body rust does put people off. 9/06

1972 US 2000 Berlina. Dutch
blue car with light tan interior. Very clean, maintained, original appearing
car.  This car looked good in every
department.  Nice paint after rust
repair some years ago, very clean and complete interior, rebuilt Spica engine, recent suspension work with uprated springs and Bilsteins,
nice Turbinas.
Three owners from new and always garaged. $6,500 AlfaBB,
Northborough, MA.  It=s hard to imagine a better non-concours Berlina for real-world
use.  This car appeared set up
really nicely.  Stock looking and
nice inside and out, but with slightly uprated
suspension.  Caring ownership and
garaging (no rust) have kept it nice.
I=d call
this a bargain compared to the over-$10,000 cars that have sold lately, and
this one=s not
over-restored. 9/06

1972 Euro 2000 Berlina.  Exemplary medium-blue European Berlina with grey velour interior. A pampered car that
looked largely original, and little-used, with 47,000 miles.  No areas to fault, with very nice paint,
nice interior, new tires, and mechanicals sorted. $12,000 ebay, New
Orleans.  This car reached the same
plateau that several restored Berlinas have hit in
the last two years.  Hard to say
whether this car was really as original as presented, or a good restoration.
Either way, a really nice looking car for the standard high-water-mark price
for a Berlina. 9/06

1972 US 2000 Berlina.  Maroon car with black interior. A mechanically
solid car that is usable and nice to drive, but was repainted a very
nonstandard metallic maroon, covering some pretty questionable accident repair
front and rear.  Not a rustbucket at all, but some very cheap bodywork was done
before spraying this odd color.  Car
is lowered, looks mean, and drives well. $4,200 AlfaBB,
Oakland, CA.  This car had been
around the Bay Area for some years, serving several owners well.  In good mechanical shape, the odd color
paint and worn interior detract somewhat. However, solid Berlinas
for under $5,000 are getting hard to find, so probably the price is about right
for the new Florida owner.  The
seller was very candid about the good and bad of the car, which is refreshing.  10/06

1965 Giulia Super.
Rolling shell with all bodywork done, but needing exterior paint and complete
assembly.  No interior, glass, trim,
or running gear other than front and rear suspension and steering.  Envisioned as the starting point for a
complete restoration. $2,400 ebay, Friday Harbor, WA.  At first blush seems like a high price
for an incomplete car.  But the
quality of work looked good, it appeared to have no rust, and is ready for
exterior paint (at upwards of $5,000 for a good job).  So if you had a rusty donor shell and
could do your own major parts swap, this was certainly the cheaper route than paying
for bodywork.  Either way, a big
project to contemplate. 10/06

1966 Giulia Super panel wagon.  Yellow/grey wagon (no rear side windows)
that had been sitting outside in Alabama since 1983. Former Alfa
dealer/distributor service vehicle.
Complete but very rusty and crusty.
Interior not too bad.  Would
need complete going-through in every system.  Includes rare-as-hen’s-teeth Colli badges on front fenders.  $1966 craigslist,
Huntsville, AL.  This car was posted
to the AlfaBB, immediately generating big excitement,
but apparently already sold locally by the time it was listed.  For the right person, the steal of the
century, as this is a $30,000+ car when finished.  For the wrong person, a never-ending
money pit, as it would certainly cost more than its value to pay a shop to
restore it.  But for someone with a
shop, or a very ambitious home mechanic who can do extensive rust repair and
source impossible-to-find parts, the Holy Grail of Giulias
for a song.  Car was posted to ebay
immediately, after grinding off most of the paint and covering it with
spray-can primer. It sold for $10,001. 11/06